Rapper, cabbie meet violent end together in Vegas

This April 2011 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Kenneth Cherry Jr., also known as rapper "Kenny Clutch." The Clark County, Nev., coroner's office identified Cherry as the Maserati driver who died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 after being peppered with gunfire from someone in a Range Rover SUV, sparking a fiery crash that killed two others in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/California DMV)
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This April 2011 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Kenneth Cherry Jr., also known as rapper "Kenny Clutch." The Clark County, Nev., coroner's office identified Cherry as the Maserati driver who died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 after being peppered with gunfire from someone in a Range Rover SUV, sparking a fiery crash that killed two others in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/California DMV)
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In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, performers dance during a preview of the new Cirque du Soleil show “Michael Jackson ONE” Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. The show at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Strip will start preview performances on May 23. It will officially premiere on June 29. (AP Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau, Glenn Pinkerton)— AP

In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, performers dance during a preview of the new Cirque du Soleil show “Michael Jackson ONE” Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. The show at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Strip will start preview performances on May 23. It will officially premiere on June 29. (AP Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau, Glenn Pinkerton)
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Smoke and flames billow from a burning vehicle following a shooting and multi-car accident on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Thursday when, authorities say, someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. (AP Photo/Erik Lackey)— AP

Smoke and flames billow from a burning vehicle following a shooting and multi-car accident on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Thursday when, authorities say, someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. (AP Photo/Erik Lackey)
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LAS VEGAS 
Kenny Cherry was an aspiring rapper who moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas to pursue his career. His music videos online show him cruising the Strip in his Maserati.

Taxi driver Michael Boldon was a family man who hailed from Michigan; and his passenger, Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, came from a loving Washington state family and was well regarded in her community.

The lives of the three ended in violence normally seen only in movies: gunfire, a fiery crash and an explosion before dawn Thursday on the neon-lit Las Vegas Strip.

As investigators Friday tried to find the gunman in a black Range Rover SUV who triggered the shocking chain of events, families and friends tried to grasp the blink-of-an-eye finality of it all.

"Right now my heart is breaking," said Cherry's great aunt, Patricia Sims, of Oakland, Calif. "This has really been a tragedy. Kenny was just a delightful kid."

Sims, 75, said Cherry moved to Las Vegas from Northern California, though she didn't know her nephew was a rapper using the name Kenny Clutch.

Cherry's parents were traveling to Las Vegas on Friday to claim his body. The 27-year-old, whose full name is Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., was driving a Maserati that was peppered by gunfire before it sped through a red light and smashed into Boldon's taxi.

The taxi exploded into flames, killing Boldon and Sutton-Wasmund, as four other vehicles crashed like pinballs at an intersection overlooked by some of Las Vegas' most famous hotel-casinos: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally's and the Flamingo.

Police think an argument at the valet area of the upscale Aria resort-casino led to the shooting, but they haven't shared details. The shooting happened the same night that Morocco-born rapper French Montana was playing at Aria's signature nightclub, Haze.

"What the original disagreement was is crucial to the ongoing investigation and the identification of the suspects," said Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell.

He said investigators were examining surveillance video and enlisting help from federal authorities and agencies in neighboring states to look for the distinctive Range Rover. It had blackout windows and custom black rims and was last seen speeding away from the fiery scene around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

Police said a passenger in the Maserati was wounded in the arm but was treated at a hospital and released. He was reported to be cooperating with investigators, and his name wasn't made public.

Cherry's father, Kenneth Cherry Sr., of Emeryville, Calif., said he was struggling to handle his grief.

He said his son started a music career in Oakland after attending two Catholic high schools. According to his father, Cherry was recognized by other rappers within a West Coast hip-hop strain called hyphy.

Cherry was not well-known in wider music circles, according to Chuck Creekmur, CEO of AllHipHop.com.

"I had never heard his name before," Creekmur said.

Kenny Clutch's YouTube music video, "Stay Schemin," shows scenes of hotels along the Strip as he sings about paying $120,000 for his Maserati.